AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 15 



and better sugar machinery will enable the Porto Rican farmer to 

 compete with any country in the world in the sugar industry. The 

 available lands for sugar are too limited in Porto Rico, however suc- 

 cessfidly managed, to materially affect the markets of the United 

 States. Wages are certain to advance. In fact, since the substitu- 

 tion of the gold standard, August 1, 1900, laborers are demanding 50 

 cents per day in gold instead of silver, and some sugar planters have 

 granted the advance. With better wages more sugar will be con- 

 sumed in the island. If the Porto Rican laborer used as much sugar 

 as the American, nearly the entire crop would be consumed at home 

 and there would be little sugar for export. 



PRESENT CONDITION OP THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Prior to the American occupation of the island the sugar industry 

 was in a bankrupt condition, owing to the low prices of sugar and other 

 causes. Many planters allowed their sugarhouses to go to. decay, 

 and turned their cane fields into pastures. Of the 26 sugar estates 

 in the district of Farjardo, 14 were idle and turned out for grazing in 

 1898 — the year of our occupancy. Had they been prosperous they 

 would have been in cane that year. Further statistics show that about 

 two-sevenths of the larger sugar estates of the island had gone out of 

 business. A few sugar estates, with capital and close management, 

 were able to pay expenses and continue the business. For the ten 

 years prior to 1898 Porto Rico had marketed in the United States an 

 average of over 80,000,000 pounds of sugar annually, at prices ranging 

 from 1.7 cents to 2 cents per pound. The crop of 1899, though injured 

 about 33 per cent by the hurricane, netted the planters more money 

 than any crop for several years. They stated that they realized from 

 3^ to 4 cents per pound, according to quality. It is estimated that 

 the present crop will furnish about 80,000,000 pounds for export. 

 The sugar industry is therefore in a flourishing condition. 



The Ooppee Industry. 



Thecoffee plant is strictly a tropical evergreen, and, if left unpruned, 

 attains a height of 20 to 30 feet. It should be headed low; so as to 

 be more productive, and to make all parts easily accessible to the 

 picker. The leaves are 4 or 5 inches long, oblong-ovate, dark green in 

 color. The whole plant is fresh and attractive in appearance. The 

 fruit is much like a cherry in form. Each berry contains two seeds, 

 surrounded by a thin, sweet pulp. The flat surfaces of the two seeds 

 are facing and are separated by a thin layei- of pulp, and also by a 

 tough membrane or skin which envelops each. As the fruit approaches 

 maturity the berry turns red, and later a dark purple. The plant 

 requires good drainage. The taproot penetrates to a depth of 3 to 5 

 feet, and is injured if it reaches standing water. 



COPPEE CULTURE IN PORTO RICO. 



The favorite places selected for coffee plantations in Porto Rico are 

 narrow ravines on the sides of mountains, where on three sides the 

 plant will be protected from the wind. Plants are started in a seed 

 bed and when 1 year old are transplanted into the field and set in 

 rows 4 to 5 feet apart. In Porto Rico little attention is given the 

 preparation of the soil, and no fertilizer is used. Very little pruning 



